This is interesting and very real. How can educators break through tensions existing outside the classroom to help students feel comfortable and positive within the learning space? How do we turn a classroom into a community when the community these students live within, outside of school, is so vastly different? I think at this point, educators need to take on the role of role-models. In this, educators should not only be teaching, but also modeling behaviors appropriate for school. These behaviors should also coincide with a positive trajectory of life outside of school, to help students better problem solve in scenarios existing outside the domains of the classroom. This reminds me of the other reading, Engaging African American Males in Reading.

What are some different ways in which we can create a classroom climate where these issues can not permeate the learning environment?

Allowing for more student-choice/ free-choice activities and learning helps students perceive learning more positively. Learning and literacy should not be about trapping students in confined learning structures that are implemented primarily by the teacher. Interaction between students allows for more learning opportunities.

I agree with this statement entirely. I think that literature circles are a great way to foster critical discussion about the text between the children. The exchange of ideas and inferences about the text differ amongst the children, making the conversation even more meaningful. In essence, every student gets something from the conversation and can thus further develop their understanding of the literature.

The journal workshop is a great way to help students apply what they've learned in class to their own writing. The sharing of each students work allows students to keep their audience in mind and shows that there is a community of writers who are all their to help and give suggestions for each others writing. This motivates students to want to keep improving their writing.

This is such a great idea! An assessment portfolio is not only a great way for the teacher to assess the development of each students writing but it is also a great way to allow parents to see how their child is growing overtime and how their writing is getting increasingly better.

I really like the idea of having a conference time with other students. This can help students develop their writing as well because they are getting suggestions and ideas from a third party which could help improve what they've written.

I agree that having students include drawings along with their writing can help them create a more detailed story in their mind which they can then transfer onto paper in their writing. This is a great tool to help students elaborate on their writing or just spark an idea of what they could write about.

Having students share their writing can be very beneficial in the classroom because it allows other students to get ideas of how they can either fix their writing or add more things to it to further develop what they have already written.

I agree that ensuring more time for teaching, reading, and writing that is meaningful to children will help them relate more and be more focused and engaged. They also will be more motivated to write if sharing is involved. Many students tend to leave blank pages waiting on a topic to come to them. This will improve time management skills.

I agree that having an assessment portfolio to observe the students progress is needed to to see their growth and support them where they are not improving in.

This is essential in getting the students excited to speak in front of the class and share their work. This will make good practice for their future. Also, the teacher gets one-on-one time with each child each week to make sure they are on the right track.

I like this idea. I think it will be effective in helping the students write more and remember what they want to add. This will also help them write more visual details.

I agree with this statement. Students can get ideas from their classmates to make their ideas more detailed and help them in the future.

Writer's craft is essential because it helps writers stay on topic. Often times, beginner writers will go off topic and the writing might be unorganized. This will help them make better choices and be more self aware.

I agree that this should be encouraged to help students with reading, spelling, and writing. Sending home worksheets to practice on their own could be a good technique in getting them more practice.

I agree that brainstorming possible topics for writing before the students go off on their own is very beneficial for them. This will give them better ideas, in a more detailed manner and also help spelling for some students who have a tougher time.

It is so great to see the readers workshop having such success in classrooms. If this process is allowing students to enjoy reading books as well as increasing their involvement in the classroom then i think it is definitely something that should be used in all classrooms.

I think this is one of the most important parts to have in the readers workshop because it allows for students to finish up their time by coming back together as a class to share what they learned or discovered and to also hear what other students learned during their time. This sharing of ideas can help students to look for different things in the text the next time they read that they might not have caught this time.

I think using mini-lessons for pre-reading purposes is a great idea. It is important to help students make predictions and draw on their own past experiences that may connect to the book because this could help them make more sense of the story. It is also just a good skill for students to develop in order to be a good reader.

This is such a great point! I think the environment of a classroom can sometimes make or break the way a student will learn and absorb knowledge on any given day. With this being said, the teacher should create an environment and routine for the classroom that encourages children to spend any free moments they have in the classroom reading or discussing books and ideas with other students.

Reading is so important to the development of students and I think them reading independently for only about 7-8 minutes per day is just not cutting it. That is not nearly enough time for students to develop good reading skills or even just enjoy what they are reading.

This second grade teacher does a good job in organizing her strategy by picking three stories that function during 2 or 3 days. This keeps the students more focused and the teacher better prepared for the 3 stories of those 3 days. I like how the group membership is constantly changing so that students get more excitement in their reading and its not the same boring routine for them.

This is very interesting to me because I think it is very beneficial for the teachers to see where his or her students are at with reading and to aid and guide the students in a better direction. Also if students need that extra support, this would be a good time for that.

I agree with the idea of giving pre reading activities to students. This will encourage students and get them on the right track to draw from previous learning and experiences.

I agree that students must learn how to manage their time wisely when reading as this well help them later in the future in school and in jobs. This will make them a more responsible reader. Teachers can observe and suggest strategies to improve their reading choices in the classroom.

I agree that students need to be using their little reading time in school more wisely because teachers and students get wrapped up in the worksheet they need to complete after the reading. They skim through the reading so they have enough time to get the work done. However, I think it's important to make reading less stressful on the students and give them the opportunity to enjoy the reading rather than rush it to do worksheets.

I think this last piece of Readers Workshop is extremely important. It brings closure to Readers Workshop by gathering students together to collectively discuss and respond to the literature. Each student can share his/her reading and the inferences they made about that reading, which is a wonderful way to ensure that everyone's thoughts and progress in learning are being appreciated, acknowledged, and respected.

While I feel free-choice approaches to activities are awesome, I do feel there is issues with this. Students may opt to have their LRGs with close friends. When this happens, distractions and side-conversations run rampant and productive work rarely gets accomplished. I do think, however, teachers should assign mixed-level groups. There is a lot of research on how mixed-level groups are truly effective, especially when looking into Lev Vygotsky's research on learning and learning theory. Students working together from different levels of learning and understanding can better help guide each other as well as foster good conversation about the material than students working together from similar levels of learning and understanding.

I observe my main teacher's mini lessons during the very beginning of our reader's workshop everyday, and they are super effective. Each day, she teaches the students a new strategy to help them critically think about several ideas in the book, including what they might learn, the plot, the characters' feelings, the lesson, etc. For instance, today, she taught the kids a "sneak-peak" strategy, wherein she sat in front of the classroom with the main text as the students sat across from her on the carpet. She asked the class several questions about the cover and back of the book. She guided the mini-lesson by engaging in a conversation with students that went something like this:

"Hmm I see that there is a Raccoon on the front of my non-fiction book, and the blurb on the back of my book lists different animals you can find in your backyard! So maybe this book will be about Raccoons and how they are a type of animal you can find in your backyard? Raise a quiet hand and tell me if you agree or disagree and why."

After that conversation, she told the students to look at the Table of Contents of their own non-fiction books. Each "chapter" would hint to them what they would be reading about.

She's done "sneak-peak" with fiction books as well. The strategy pulls the readers in entirely! They are really excited to use the strategy when they go back to their seats for independent reading time.

Sparking interest with students in their reading is a sure-fire way to make reading and literacy, in general, an enjoyable experience. If the primary educator is engaged in the text and introducing some interesting ideas that will be presented in the text, but not telling students ALL of the details, naturally, the students will be curious to read and discover exactly what the literature entails.

Yes!!! This is so important. Reading, whether it is completed together, as a class, or independently, should be an enjoyable process of delving into literature through several modalities. It is important that reading is not something that students interpret aversively. It should be a positive stimuli! Worksheets in place of instruction are busy work, anyhow. Let's engage the students. That's where the true learning occurs.

In essence, higher fluency rates and rates of enjoyment/pleasure are reported when children are continually presented with books containing engaging material. Engaging material may include relevant thematic statements, relatable characters, dramatic/funny/interesting plots, imaginative scenarios, etc. Stories should be both relevant and meaningful to what is developmentally and age appropriate for students.

I think that this point is very interesting because some people do not believe that children can learn about complex things until they have reached the Abstract stage of development. Children are like little sponges and can learn about anything we want to teach them.

Crazy that even before a child is born they are assigned gender norms. For a boy everything is blue with cars, and for a girl everything must be pink with princesses. For some children those colors and interests are accurate, but not for all, and they certainly shouldn't be forced to like a certain color or toy.

I agree with this concept and this is why I respect Target so much. They took a huge step toward this when they got rid of the "boy" and "girl" sections in their stores and just made it one giant toy section.

I agree that children can be taught most subjects. Children are naturally curious and tend to repeat what they hear, so whatever they are told becomes engrained in their minds. This means that, building off of a previous statement made, children need to be taught that there are more options when it comes to gender identity other than just "boy and girl"from a very early age.

I took a class last semester called Young Adult literature in which we read young adult books about different topics. One of the ones that had the most discussion was when we read Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan because it took place in a world where there is very little homophobia and the concepts about it were generally the opposite from what we hear in the real world. The vast amount of the discussion at the end of this novel was about how this was not a realistic setting because it was so difficult to buy into the premise. I found this to be extremely aggravating because it made me realize we live in a society that has programmed us to believe that it is nearly impossible for people to be accepted. This is why this topic was so interesting to me.

I think this is great that the study is basically handing tools to students about how to handle this situation when you're in it and may have a classmate or know someone who is "gender variant or transgender" and also tools for students who may be experiencing gender identity issues themselves. This is also a great way to set it in students heads that being different is okay, and if they are learning this in school then they are all learning it. Whereas, now it is up to parents to have this conversation with their children about gender and gender roles. And we all know hoe parents can be with their own ideas and placing those in their children's heads.

I am proud to see how much society has changed and how we can be so accepting just 49 years later. Yes, we still have a long way to go but there are now clubs, living communities, social groups, and parades strictly for people who identify as LGBTQ. Boy, was Garfinkel wrong!

This makes a great point that it is not just a social justice concern for the "significantly gender variant or transgender" but for all learners. It is important for everyone, not just children who are transgender or gender variant.

It really is sad to hear that anyone is getting bullied and especially for just expressing themselves in a way they feel appropriate. Just because someone is wearing different clothes or a different hairstyle does not give anyone the right to bully them. I think if kids are brought up from a young age without gender roles it can really help when they are growing up.

This is very interesting because a lot of people (including me) probably don't know this. The preschool teachers don't know what kind of affect they can have on kids as young as this when it comes to gender roles.

I totally agree with this statement that there are all these social norms about men and women and how we should act. In reality, it is your life and you can do whatever you want and carry yourself anyway that you want. You should not have to go about your life a certain way because "everyone" thinks you should.

Maybe one method could be incorporating awareness and exposure in daily lessons. Let's read more books about varying family structures and gender diversity. Let's watch documentaries in class to engage children, first hand, on the experiences of these individual, and then bring closure to such an activity by requiring an open discussion with thought provoking questions. Though my knowledge in social psychology is limited, I am aware of this: the central way of confronting negative stereotypes about minorities is exposure. Bring awareness through education!

To "transform social order" is to change the current societal normative ideas about gender and sexual identity that which shape our attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors about gender and sexual identity. Moreover, the author's writing is bringing awareness to the harsh norms in our society pertaining to those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual, and with that, attempting to raise support for those listed above, who are, inarguably, discriminated against.

Parents get to choose which behavior is "gender appropriate" when children are born. However, as time goes on this can change and is out of control of the parents hands if the children are comfortable accepting themselves.

This is very true in my opinion. I have two younger brothers, 6 and 8 that have developed social norms especially in the use of technology. We are 100 percent portuguese and in school they never speak a word of it to others because "everyone speaks english." It is common for young students to pick up on other's norms and actions. We still do to this day.

I agree that children and adults should explore their own and other's gender and relationships to get a better view of the world and themselves in society.

I agree that there is this persistent belief that the world can only be divided into two, only two genders. If someone does not fit into one of those genders they are a "freak." I am against people judging other based on being different. It is society's norm to be either female or male, but some may be unknown still, and i believe that is okay because everyone is figuring themselves out as we live.

This is interesting because I have a family member who buys baby dolls for her little son, and lets him choose any kind of toy even if it its pink or a barbie doll. This gives children a more accepting lifestyle.

Even from such young ages children have already been conformed to think as gender in specific ways making it hard to see and accept those who may not see themselves in either concrete "category" of gender.

It is important to support all children no matter their gender variance because I think that all children should at least have the chance to express who they are and their identity freely just like any other person is allowed to do without being so high shamed for it.

I agree with this point made by the author because it is important to support young learners in the process of deconstructing norms so that they may feel as comfortable as anyone else if they are in a position where they are seen as "testing" accepted norms about gender.

I believe this is true as well, that students at any stage of development are capable of learning complex topics whether it be about this topic or about other topics such as gender or racism. They just need to be taught these things on an appropriate level for their age.

I agree with the author in that limiting people to the idea that there are only two concrete genders can inhibit people physically, mentally, and emotionally who may not consider themselves in either category.

A teachers beliefs are always going to be either similar or different than his/her students. As a teacher, you should have different reading material in the classroom that reaches over multiple areas of interest. I think teachers should see what their students thinking about the definition of reading and see what books would satisfy their definition as well.

This is important, but it should be changed. Children's literature is important and it should not only be based on testing and teaching students how to decode. Yes, children should know how to identify important parts on a text, but they should also be able to read books of their interest. Everything is about testing now, and personally I think it is turning a lot of children to not like school.

Yes! I think social, political and cultural dimensions are immensely important to teaching and arguably more important than the scientific considerations. Although, all those dimensions mentioned, if taken into equal consideration, can be a recipe for success in the classroom.

I hope that when I am a teacher, we have a more liberal educational agenda where differentiation is encouraged and I can develop my own teaching methods.

Serafini makes a good point here. If teaching a child how to read just meant reading books aloud and filling a room with high quality books then any literate parent can homeschool their child. Though it is important to do those things as a teacher, there is clearly much more to teaching literature.

We see it so often lately that teachers want to continue the old ways and just teach the way they know to, or have always taught. The author is right things won't change unless our teachers do, unfortunately.

I have very find memories of reading books in the classroom with my favorite teachers. I now know that there were methods behind those reading but to me it was just fun and enjoyable. To think that children are only going to be read books in the classroom to assist test scores makes me sick.

This is so encouraging to read about, being able to see the growth of a student simply because she is now able to see herself as part of the story and relatable to the character is going to really help her in the long run. Kudos to the teacher for becoming so actively involved in the fight for justice.

I think this is a particularly interesting point in that many students hear of only names like this, not the others such as writers, judges, mathematicians, etc like the article continues to expand on.

I've never heard of the "mirror" and "window" books before, and now I understand the importance.

It's surprising to me that an issue this important went so unnoticed. Whether the comment was supported by other readers or commenters, or not, I would hope that the creators made this huge issue of more importance, but I guess not.

The wording of this statement/statistic is incredibly powerful, and really makes you second-guess any prior opinions you may have had about the selections of the Common Core.

This is a great message that relates back to the beginning of the article. If a great book really does change us, imagine how much it can change a child who can relate to it. Using books that all children can relate to can make some great changes in the classroom.

I think this is a great point that this work needs to be shared. The more people/educators it is shared with, the more publicity it will get. Eventually it will make its way to the CCSS.

It makes sense that if you are surrounded by something you can relate to then you will do better. How can we expect children of color to succeed at such high level;s if the are not given relateable materials?

Teaching and exposing children to diversity, not just in terms of race/ethnicity, but in terms of gender, religion, socioeconomic background, family structures, parents and sexual orientation, gender identity, etc., is extremely critical. "One generation plants the trees, the next gets the shade" (Chinese Proverb). If we provide our children with a diverse education, where all different backgrounds are learned about, recognized, respected, and accepted, our youthful students will develop a much richer understanding of the world. This will then help them in their future educational paths as they continue to learn, grow, and develop.

This statement is utterly powerful. Education should truly and always be kid's first. Education should be for the kids and about the kids. This is NOT kid's first education. Window books, especially for students of minority, neglect their needs in terms of learning and development.

These two, broad opinions about the common core standards truly resonate with me. In regard to whether they are developmentally appropriate or not, I feel that many of the standards require too many complex cognitive processes. The truth is, early childhood students have yet to develop most of these complex processes. It is almost as if the CCSS are attempting to speed natural development of children. I think this point also relates to the next statement, "whether too much emphasis has been placed on non-fiction at the cost of literature." While non-fiction is beneficial to readers, in the sense that it is both instructional and informational, I feel it takes away from the enjoyment in literacy and learning. I am not sure if I can speak on how non-fiction texts tap into the imaginative and creative processes that which fiction texts do. I fear we may be trimming our future generations of their true, expressive, and creative selves.

Not only can this change in classroom libraries inspire change in students but it can help parents see the potential of their children to be great readers and aspire to be like inspiring characters in their "mirror" or "window" books. Letting parents see this change in their child will show them just how important these diversified books are in the classroom and maybe inspire them to purchase some for their child's home-use as well.

Allowing students not only of color but of different backgrounds as well to see successful people in books of the same cultural background or race is very important because it allows students to see opportunities that are open to them in their future. They can see all of the possibilities of what they can become in their life and giving students these aspirations and motivation is very important.

This change in classroom libraries of adding mirror books for all children is a great way to get the dominant culture os students in the classroom to see life through someone else's eyes and see how people of different cultures and backgrounds live.

I highly agree with this statement as well. I think children can better their reading and literacy skills by being able to make connections to books that resonate in their own lives and personal experiences.

The fact that students are bringing up these thoughts is so important in considering how students should be introduced/working with literature in the classroom

This characteristic of a must-read text really stuck with me. The thought that some students will only be able to find this comfort in a book brings awareness to a topic that I knew existed, but selfishly didn't think much about. I am thankful that this article was able to bring this to my attention.

This type of text is something completely new to my vocabulary and knowledge

The idea of having a relatable text helping to increase literacy is so important, and has the ability to serve as a motivator, which would obviously be incredibly helpful in helping students who are in need of the help.

I remember learning about stereotype threat in a previous class I have taken, and now that I think about it, we only ever discussed stereotype threats in adults. The fact that this would be overlooked with the influence they have on children is disheartening. Never should a child feel that he or she will be/can only be less than one other because of a race, community, or socioeconomic status that they were born in to.

The fact that Frederick Douglass can attribute his political success just shows how important meaningful high interest texts can be to disenfranchise populations. I'm sure many lives have been and can be change with literature.

It is so important for these students to step-up and say this isn't working for me and heres what we can try instead. I understand why these students are not speaking though; they feel alienated by their education and are sometimes placed in Special Education and are even more discouraged.

I'm wondering if these texts are more "dis-abling" now to adolescent African American males not only because of policy decisions but also because the view points, goals, and desires of these males have changed in the past years. Possibly more aggressive attitudes, different ideals at home? Could be a result of generations not finding the correct texts to send them in a successful academic direction.

I completely agree that if the students are more interested int he text then they would be more invented in their work and strive for better success. I wonder why there are such limited texts that would work adolescent African American males?

I would like to see the data that relates what students read to their lack of academic motivation. It would be interesting to see how the data relates.

It is interesting to see that so much is impacted by these tests, straight down to texts that students read.

I think it is very interesting that educational systems have incorporated this type of literature into their curriculums. I think all literature read in schools should move beyond just a cognitive focused mean something greater to the student reading it. I feel the greater the meaning of the text impacts the student, the more they will remember and incorporate it into their daily life.

This is an interesting concept that had not occurred to me before reading this. Though it is blatant and obvious, now that it has been brought to my attention I am very interested. When students are given literature and have lessons that are based around something of meaning to them then the discussion becomes much more meaningful. When students are able to relate school work to the real world and issues they face on a daily basis they have more to say, and what they say tends to be more important (instead of just silence fillers).

I took a Psychology class that discussed the concept of priming (I can not remember the exact term, but I think priming was it). It essentially claims that, for example, if a group of women are told (or it is implied) that women are inferior to men, then they take a test shortly after, the women tend to do worse on the test than if they are not "primed" at all. The reason I mention this is because there was a second example when it came to sports that showed white males and black males going into a study. When they were "primed" to believe that black males were better at sports than white males, the results proved to follow this. Then when they were told "white males are better" the white males performed better. Since we live in a society that tends to favor white males over any other race or gender it can be seen why what the article is discussing is true. It is interesting to see something I learned in a psychology class translating into an education class.

I agree that the classroom should be linked to student experiences, this will get them more engaged and determined to do their work and succeed.

I read this book and thought it was an inspiring. It focuses on a runaway slave who fulfills a dream. This is a great book for this reading topic.

This statement stood out to me because I think it is very essential to be a positive role model steering the students in the right direction for the future. This will help with motivation and self doubt.

I agree that enabling texts for African Americans moves beyond sole cognitive focus. Using social, cultural, political, spiritual, or economic focus can help them develop their skills more productively.

I agree that by selecting appropriate materials for reading, male African Americans can gain knowledge of a positive life. The four literacy needs, academic, cultural, emotional, and instructional practices are all very useful tools. They are getting a round-literaracy based education.

Grade 4 students must be able to utilize the skills of drawing on the similarities and differences on how stories are narrated in text. Moreover, students must be able to identify the difference between first and third person stories, by analyzing the texts for key-words such as "I" when referring to quotations.

This common core standard for firth grade students could be greatly applied to the book series, The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Students will be able to identify themes such as human atonement or redemption, and relate this theme to specific character actions, like how Aslan sacrificed his own life to save that of another character's.

Grade 4 students must be able to pull information from both the text and from their existing knowledge to figure out the meaning of new words and phrases.

This common core standard for literacy for third graders reflects their knowledge on not only recounting and recalling several variations of stories, but also using what they know about different cultural practices to identify a central message or moral.

Second graders must have the skill sets of both asking and answering critical questions relating to the story, specifically, who, what, when, where, and why. After identifying the answers to these questions, second graders must also support their conclusions through retrieving information from the texts. The skills used in this common core standard include asking, identifying, and supporting.

With the use of scaffolding teachers help kindergarteners further develop both their knowledge in stories kindergarteners have previously heard/read as well as their skills in retelling the key details of the familiar story. Recalling a story's major events, characters, settings, sequential details, etc. require kindergarten students to tap into their prior knowledge and skill sets in accurately retelling a story.

I believe that the Three Little Pigs would be a great text to reach this standard. There are detailed illustrations that could help describe the characters, setting, and events.

First graders must be able to utilize illustrations and details in a story in order to describe the characters, setting, or events.

First graders must know the definitions and understand the terms character, setting and event.

I think that the Three Billy Goats Gruff would be a great text in order for a student to meet this standard.

Grade 1 students must be able to use key details in order to describe the characters, settings and major events.

Grade 1 students must know the definitions of characters, settings and major events.

This is knowledge because the students have to know what the meaning, tone and beauty of a text means and it is also a skill because then they have to be able to write about it

This is both knowledge and a skill because it is knowledge because the children have to know what summarize means and it is a skill because they have to be able to summarize the story or poem.

This is knowledge because they need to know different traits and feelings of people and it is also a skill because they need to remember the trait and be able to write about it.

This would be a skill because they would have to pick out the message and lesson from the story.

This would be a knowledge because the students need to know about different cultures and what their traditions are like

this is a skill for children in first grade because they need to be able to pick out words that connect to their 5 senses. A good example of this would be a book called Dog's Colorful Day because it talks about food and colors which pertain to the senses of sight and taste.

This is a skills that kindergarteners need to know. You could give them the story of the three little pigs and hey Dittle Dittle and ask them to tell you which one is the story.

Students need to be able to give examples from the text after reading and be able to explain what the detail means.

When students are able to understand the difference between the beginning and end of the story, they know the beginning introduces the story and prepares the reader for what is to follow. Students know that the end of the story concludes the action.

A good book to use for this standard would be The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Suess. The Cat in the Hat is a unique and quirky character, students would have fun describing him.

Fourth graders must be able to retell the details of a character, setting, or event in their own words using what they remember from the text.

Fourth graders must be able to remember the character, setting and events in the story as well as specific details

A good book to use would be Green eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess because there are a lot of rhyming words in it that create a pleasant rhythm throughout the text.

Second graders must be able to think about why specific words are chosen and what they add to the text.

Second graders must be able to recognize patterns like rhyme and repeated lines and alliteration.

A good text to use for this standard would be The Lorax by Dr. Suess. One question to ask would be why did the town change so much? The question fits this standard because the characters in the text cut all the trees down, which was a major resource for the town.

A third grader must be able to identify how the characters' actions affect the plot.

Third graders must know who the characters are in the story and what unique characteristics they each have.

A good book to use for this would be The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. A teacher can ask students what they think the message of this book was, and ask them to use examples in the book. This book has many examples of the main character taking advantage of the tree.

Third graders must be able to reference specific moments and details in the text.

Third graders must understand what happened in the text and remember specific examples.

A good story to use for this standard would be green eggs and ham, because the central message (that you should try things before saying you don't like them) is fairly easy to understand.

First graders must be able to retell the story in their own words.

First graders must understand and remember what happened in the story.

Second graders must be able to think of a reason why events in the story happened, using their knowledge of characters, setting and plot

Second graders must know the characters, settings and events in the story.

Students identify key details, about plots and settings of different stories that have the same or similar characters and they are written by the same author. Students will see this commonly in series books.

Students who ask questions by using words such as who, why, what, where, and when, expand their understanding of a text. They also use words such as setting, events, and characters.

This is when the students understand the difference between the author of the story and the narrator. The students know that the narrator is the story teller, which is the voice of the story in which the story is told. The students also know that the author of the book is the person who wrote the book.

This would be what the student needs to do. They need to pick out the author and illustrator of the story. a good example of this might be a story by Dr. Suess because a lot of children have read his books

A kindergarten student needs to be able to identify who wrote the book and who drew the pictures. This would be knowledge.

Here are some questions you can ask kids:

• Who is in this story?

For this standard, students would have to read a variety of poems, plays and prose to understand the structural differences. Then the students must use the structural knowledge to properly write and speak about poems and plays. A good play for this standard would be Annie and a good collections of poems to understand structure would be from poet Roald Dahl.

Students must read a wide variety of fiction story types, understand the moral, and explain what key details help identify it. I think stories about the greek gods would be fun and exciting for kids, possibly Hercules as a book and movie follow up.

This would require child to read different versions of the same story in order to understand different cultures. Students can make Venn diagrams or use other graphic organizers to compare and contrast

any of the classic fairy tales, cinderella, little red riding hood and more would help teach this standard.

This would require students to learn about point of view during the story. They might not have to understand terms like first person and third person, but they might be able to tell if it is the author or the main character telling the story.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series would be helpful to understand point of view because the main character is also the story teller.

The idea of prompting and supporting students is crucial to teaching. For prompting, a teacher might ask the whole class, calling on students raising their hands in the group or walking around to individual students to assess their knowledge.

For support, a teacher might provide a graphic organizer for a story and events, word banks, helpful hints, fill in the blanks, highlighting key words or verbal support with encouraging language. The obvious support would be reading the story aloud or to an individual student.

I think Pezzettino by Leo Lionni would be a good text for this standard because the characters in this book are more abstract and the text is very basic, so it provides students with an opportunity to give a variety of answers.

Students need to be able to convey what they are seeing in an illustration and compare it to the text that was read.

A kindergarten student must know the definition of a illustration.

This idea of third grade students being able to explain how illustrations helps the author make his or her points apparent to readers is knowledge. The students should be able to make inferences and create understanding with reasonable explanation and support for their ideas.

Fifth grade students should have the ability to accurately cite and draw on the text they have read.This is a necessary skill that they will need to develop for their further education

A good example of a text that students can make connections between would be Alice in Wonderland in comparison to the Disney movie. There are many elements of the money that come directly from the story itself.

These two standards show the difference in skill and knowledge that a student should have from the end of kindergarten to the end of first grade. In kindergarten the student should be able to compare and contrast elements of familiar stories with prompting, but by the end of first grade students should be able to do this with all stories by only illustrations, and without any prompting. This is a good example of how the expectations work on the same skill, but become a more difficult task as the students progress through each grade.

This is a skill that first grade students should have. They should be able to tell the difference between fiction and non fiction, and what separates them from one another.

In order to fulfill this, second graders must demonstrate knowledge of characters, setting, and/or plot to be able to show their understanding of it.

Kindergarten students need to be able to recognize the different types of texts that are available. This is a knowledge for kindergartners because it is all about sorting through different material that may be given, and is a simple identifying task.

A fourth grade student should be able to determine the theme or underlying message/moral of a story.

Theme

A good example of this would be the book the book Charlotte's Webb. This book would allow students to read carefully in order to pick out the underlying message the author is trying to portray as well as linking back to the third grade standard of being able to refer to certain parts of the text ("chapters" or "sections") in order to determine the theme and back it up with key details from the text.

A third grade student should be able to refer to different parts of a text by using specific vocabulary such as "chapter" or "stanza" to identify key details in the text.

Parts of a Story

A good example of this would be chapters books for third graders such as books from the Junie B. Jones series. These allow students to recall details from the text by referring to specific chapters of sections of the book.

A second grade student should be able to identify what challenges the main characters goes through in a story and how they get through it.

Challenges

A good example of this would be the book David Gets In Trouble. This book shows the challenges David goes through and how he overcomes them in the end of the story.

A first grade students should be able to, while reading a text, pick out specific words that refer or appeal to the five senses or an emotion.

Skill

A good example of a book for this standard would be You Can't Taste a Pickle With Your Ear. This book is a fun way to have students pick out words or phrases that refer to the five senses and have them understand the difference between them all.

As a kindergarten student, students must be able to tell what the main characters or events in a story are.

Identify

I believe a good example of this for students is the book The Tortoise and the Hare because the events in the story are easily identified as well as the main characters.

A third grade student must be able to refer certain parts of a text using specific terms.

A first grade student must ask and answer questions about a text.

Ask and answer questions

A good story for this standard is Green Eggs and Ham so that students can ask questions of any confusion in the writing or answer any of the teachers to make sure they are following.

A fifth grade student must explain how the point of view of the story (the narration) influences how events are described.

Describe the importance of a point of a view through events.

A good story for this standard is Because Of Mr. Terupt because it is narrated by a point of view of one of seven of the fifth graders, who is a bully and very smart.

Fourth Grade students must choose the theme of the text and summarize it.

Summarize a text (poem,story, drama) and stating the theme.

A good story for this standard would be Our Differences because it has a good theme of not judging others.

A first grade student must go back and pay attention to the illustrations in a story to describe details like its characters, settings, or events.

Use of illustrations

A good story would be Where The Wild Things Are for this standard because each illustration in that story is very detailed and shows what the setting and characters look like and how they feel through facial expressions and body language.

A second grade student must describe a character's feelings/emotions when a major event or challenge occurs.

Describe

I think the story The Case of Bad Stripes would be a good story for this standard because the main character goes through many challenges.

I think the Three Little Pigs would be a good story for this standard because it changes settings and has easily identifiable characters.

Students need to be able to pint out characters in stories.

A kindergarten student must know a definition of a character

This shows that even Walt Whitman cares about what people think back in 1855 just as people care what people think now.